Tire protector



SMQ

'INVENTOR H. c. ANDERSON TIRE PROTECTOR Fili@ peo. s. 1924 July 26,1927.

Patented July 26, 1927.

UNITED stares MTENT OFFICE.

HIRAM G. ANDERSON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

TIRE PROTECTOR.

Application inea :December 3, 1924. serial No. 753,644.

impregnable from such conditions as tend to break or otherwise damagesuoli tire or shoe from the outside. f

hlore specifically, the protector constituting the subjectof thisspecification is so designed and constructed as to embrace all of thetread portion of a pneumatic tire which may be of any usual orconventional type or construction, as to protect it from punctures,denting or breaking strains, tending to rupture the cord or otherfibrous carcass within it, and consequently serving to prevent anylikelihood or even possibility of a blow-out, it being remembered thatblowouts are more liable to occur as a result ofV breakage of thecarcass from external force than from internal pressure.

A still further object of the invention is to permit pneumatic tires andwheels to be operated at a materially lower inflation pressurethanusual, with t-he result that the easy riding qualities will be markedlyincreased and yet without increasing` the steering traction or frictionthat is noticeably incident to the operation of an ordinary pneumatictire wit-h under inflation.

lVith the foregoing and other objects .of the invention in view theinvention consists in the arrangement and combination of partshereinafter described and claimed, and while the invention is notrestricted to the exact details of construction disclosed or suggestedherein, still for the purpose of illustrating a practical embodimentthereof,V reference is had to the accompanying` drawings in which likereference characters designate thev same parts in the several views, andin which- Figure l is a vertical transverse section of a preferredembodiment of my invention ap`A plied to a conventional wheel rim andtire; f

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective viewl of the auxiliary tread rimsection.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side elevation as from thearrow 3 of Fig. l andwith parts broken away and in section.

Fig. 4 is a sectional detail on the line 4--4 of Fig. 3. i

line 5 5 of Fig.`6.

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section on the line lG-ofFig@V F ig. 7 is a viewsimilar to Fig. 5 but ina Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional detailon the"plane to disclose the lockingmeans for the outer disk.

two rim sections. W

Referring now more specifically to the drawings, l show a conventionalor any suitablenpneumatic shoe l0 having an inner tube l1 andsupportedvby or upon a rim l2. These parts are referred to for thepurpose of lay-l ing a basis for the improvement Which is so designed asto be applied to practically any standard or conventional wheel or shoe,

whether of wire, artillery, disk, or other structural design.: i

13 indicates a tread member, preferably of molded cushioningcomposition, made or molded as an integral fixture upon a tread rimstructure, such as vthe part 14, an auxiliary rim part l5. beingprovided, said Vparts having detachable interlocking relation to eachother and so shaped in cross sectional design as to embrace all thetread portion of the shoe l0 andso. be practically self retainingthereupon.

The tread rim 14 is formedpreferably from sheet metal and of such shapeand `other structural*considerations as to be of complete annular formand practically rigid,

thereby serving to `maintain the tread cushion 13. in Asubstantiallyannular form. The rim 14 comprises a portion 16 straightr or fiat incross section or cylindrical-circumferentially and 'from which extendsan out?v ward flange 17 provided with an annularv series of slots 1Sspaced uniformly outward from the cylindrical portion 16 and from oneanother. The flat portion 16. extends laterally beyond the central planeof the wheel and thence the tread rim is bent inward toward the axis ofthe wheel where it is so curved or shaped at 19 as to conform to thecurvature of the shoe embraced thereby. Beyond vthis curved portion ,19is provided a trough-like or double flange structure having inner andouter partsQO and 2l, the latter having a slight outer flare orcurvature simulating the most nearly analogous Vfeature of standard tirestructures. rlhis double flange structure .forms an effective seat forreceiving and holding Fig. 8 isa detail of the joint between the Y theouter edge portion of the cushion 13. Near the bottom ot' the channel 22formed between these two flange portions 20 and 21, the outer flange 21is provided witha shoulder or oiiiset 23 within which, .consideredtoward the axis of the wheel. are formed a circumferential series otslots 24, these slots, like the slots 18, being spaced equally trom theaxis et' the" wheel and from one-another around the wheel. Y

The auxiliary section loot the tread rim structure is formed preferablyfrom sheet metal and comprises three annular| parts 15, 15b, and 15Cintegral with one another. The part 15n is practically fiat and lies ina plane perpendicular to the axis of the wheel. The part 15 is flat incross section or cylindrical circumterentially and lies snugly againstav portion ot the rim part 16: and the other auxiliary rim part 15b iscurved, corresponding `to the part 19 ot the first mentioned rim and sohugs laterally the inner portion of the tread ot' the Yshoe 10. Formedintegral withV and extending laters allyftrom the periphery ot theflange 15 are a plurality otl hooks 25 all lying in the san'ie circleand havingl their points projecting in the same direction. These hookscoooperate with the slots 18 above described. On the remote or freeouter edge of the portion 15C of the auxiliary rim are Yformed a seriesot hooks 26 which co-operate with a. similarly arrangedseries of slots27 Jformed at the shoulder between the parts i6 and 19 of the mainsection of the rim. The pointsot1 the hooks 26 projectcircumiterentially in the same direction as the hooks 25. In assemblingthese parts ot the rim the auxiliary section being` in place the otheris shoved directly toward and over it, the ilatV portion 16 of the mainvsection gliding without material resistance over the part 15C. bringingthe hooks 25 and 26 into and through the respective slots 18 and 27. Thetwo rim 'sections are then (given a relative Vrotation suliicient ytointerlock the vpoints of the two sets of hooks behind the unslottedportions ot the members in which theslots are formed.` This makes astronnr easily assembled and disassembled interlock for these two rimsections. VUnintended or accidental looseningr or reverse rotation ofthese parts is prevented by any suitable lockingr means such as ascrew28 driven through a hole 29 in the flange 15 and into a nut 30 securedas by spot welding on the remote surface of the-flange 17. This rimstructure is exceedingly strong and sate and isreinforced or double attheV central portion of the tread of the center wheel or shoe. It willbe seen to comprise an auxiliary rim member 15 which in conjunction withthe `flange 16 lorms in cross section a right triangle, an arm 1:rPL ot'the triangle being; perpendicular to "the cylindrical flange 1G/5 whilethe hypothenuse 15b ot the triangle. lies in abutment with said tir-evat a side thereof to afford lateral bracing at said tire, saidhypothenuse extendinginto engagement with the outer rim member 14 as bymeans of the portion 15,

Agreeableto the modern disk wheel practice I show at 31 an outer disk,the periphery of which is provided with a circumferential series ot'hooks 32 adapted to pass laterally through the slots 2l and interlockwithin the channel 22 as a result of a slight relative rotation between'the disk and the tread mechanism above described. Acci dental orundesired unlocking ot these parts is prevented by any suitable key orother locking means such as a` screw 33 located at any convenient placebetween two adjacent slots 24 and driven into a nut 34 secured as bywelding within said channel 22.

lVith the parts constructed and assembled with respect to one anotherand the stand ard wheel as above set tortln the mode ot operation oradvantages will be readily understood from the following brief summarj:The tread member' or protector beingrelatively rigid and so adapted tomaintain its circular -form under all conditions of usa ge. sustains notonly the runningor wearing traction on the roadway. but als@ the shocks,blows, or the like incident to cobble stones, curbs, railway rails, orother analogous obstructions that are certain to be metwith and whichare so extremely likely to cut the usual shoe or rupture the innercarcass thereof. Furthermore, since the tread structure or protectormaintainsits substantially circular form, the pressure or blow thatwould ordinarily dent and possibly damage the shoe 10. is distributedwell along' and around that arc ot the protector adjacent to butextendingr from both sides of the point ot impact. From this fact itfollows that the inner shoeI 10 is relieved from cutting or rupt-uringblows and trom which it follows alsoy that the inflation pressure forthe inner tube need not be maintained at more than one-halt above thatusually required. It' desired a cheaper anl even smaller shoe 10 may beprovided and used with my improvement. when attached as shown becomes a.ixture with the protector and they together have a floating actionrelatively to the inner wheel The disk 3land axle. Access may be hadreadily to the` employed as an emergency tread structure and may beapplied with facility to standard wheel structures already in use. Theauxiliary section 15 of the rim is adapted to be passed over the shoewhen deflated or the shoe may be removed with the rim l2 for thispurpose. After the auxiliary rim is thus placed between the shoe and thevehicle, the tread and main rim portions are slipped into place and theinterlock effected as above described at the hooks 25 and Q6. When theinne-r tube and shoe are suitably inflated the grip between the shoe andthe tread structure is ample for all practical and traction purposes.

I claim:

l. In a tire protector, a main tread rim of annular form and adapted toembrace a portion of a pneumatic tire, said rim having anged structuresalong its parallel edges, one of said flanges being provided withcircumferentially arranged slots, and said rim being slottedcircumferentially intermediate of its edges, an auxiliary rim member ofchannel construction adapted to embrace that portion of the tread andthe wheel opposite the portion embraced by the first mentioned rimmember, said auxiliary rim having a plurality of hooks extending in thesamev direction and adapted for simultaneous interlocking engagement inand through said slots, and a cushion member carried upon the firstmentioned rim and co-operating with the flanges thereof.

2. In a tire protector, a main tread rim of annular form adapted toembrace a portion of a pneumatic tire, said rim comprising an outer rimmember having direct engagement with outer cushioning means and arrangedto support the same, and an auxiliary member co-operating with saidouter rim member and whereby said rim is retained in engagement with thepneumatic tire, said outer rim member comprising a pair of annularflanges at an angle to each other, one of said flanges having an elementparallel to the axis of the pneumatic tire whereby said flange can beslipped over the same laterally and whereby the other flange is broughtinto abutment with said tire at a side thereof, said auxiliary membercomprising apair of flanges one of which is arranged to bear upon saidtire at the opposite side thereof,

said flange having means at the outer periphery thereof for engagingsaid outer rim member adjacent to the central plane of the tire toretain said flange in abutment with said tire as stated, while the otherflange extends outwardly from the inner periphery of its co-operatingflange and into engagement with said outer rim member at a side of thecushioning means to afford support for the cushioning means adjacentthereto.

3. The combination as in claim 2 wherein said out-er rim membercomprises an offset portion between its flanges, said auxiliary rimmember comprising a portion at said outer periphery which extendsbetween said tire and said outer rim member and into engagement withsaid offset portion in a direction parallel to the axis of the tire.

1l. In a tire construction, the combination with a pneumatic tire, of anouter wheel structure supported thereby comprising a rim structure andcushioning means carried thereby, said rim structure comprising an outerrim member having a pair of annular flanges one of which is arranged toabut against a side of said tire when the other flange is slippedaxially thereover, and an auxiliary rim member comprising a pair ofannular flanges and forming in conjunction with lsaid outer rim member asubstantially triangular section to act as a supporting abutment inco-operation with the outer rim member for said tire at the oppositeside thereof and adjacent to the central plane of the tire.

5. The combination as in claim l wherein the second mentioned flange ofthe outer rim member is o-f substantially cylindrical formation to passreadily over the tire, said auxiliary rim member forming in conjunctionwith said outer rim member a substantially right triangular section, thehypothenuse whereof lies in contact with said tire and comprises aportion extending between said tire and the outer rim member andengaging the same at the junction 4of the flanges of said outer rimmember.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

I-IIRAM C. ANDERSON.

